The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-09-21
TWO CHILDREN or soRruSE.


Thomas and Laur;. billiard. of Lauren
County. Snt,denIy becomes Heirs t" /;
Fortune os Sixteen hundred '2hoUsan,
Dollars.
ASSEMBLE, \. c., September lO.-A
large fortune has just been LETT by vii
to the children OF citizen OF this place
To Thomas Dillard and Miss Laurf
. billiard, aged respectively fourteen arc
, eleven years, has been given the sum o.
eight hundred thousand dollars each
These munifcent lecscies verc lett then
by a wealthy nncle who Las ,ecently
died IN California.
, I5appears that in the year 1900, Just
before the great excitement about the
god attracted such q tide of fortune
seekers to California, from iEahun coon,
ty, Georgia, went several men TO t'y
jlr;c luck on the Pacific Slope. Among
5;.@Sc was one James McCu:ry. Tho
party stopped ct PlacerviEe, El Dorado
county. At the end OF the first year
McCurry had saved enough money from
his wages as miner to purchase fifty
acres OF land near that place. This be
did against the remonstrance OF his
irie rdS, but it soon was discovered to be
rich in gold deposits. McCur1y sold
this property without working it further
than sufficient TO develop it for sale and
for it he got from Boston syndicate
$500, 0QO This was the foundation OF
his fortune and with this he purchased
! other lands in that section and found
other rich deposits of gold on them:
These miues he worked, and It IS SAID
that the McCurry mines were amog the
richest in that State, so remarkably rich
then in this metal,
On the 22d OF last month McCurry
died, and having never had any family
OF his own, his property was LETT 20 his
relatives. Mr.. George ". Diliard, d
lawyer OF this city, married sister Of
James McCurry-a Miss Nancy Margaret
McCurry. Mr.. billiard AID these two
children, Thomas and Laura, survive
her. A copy OF the VIII has been re-
ceived by Mr.. billiard, and it gives to
the heirs at law Of his sister, Nancy
Margaret Dillard, sixteen hundred thou
sand dollars.
! 1t is thought much difficulty Will be
found in securing guardians for these
! children. they sre now residents Of
/ LaureIs, S. c., but are to come here
/ shortly. and the letters Of guardianship
will be taken out here. The laws Of this
State require d bond to be fled by
guardians in double the value of the
estate. In this case. even Il g guardian
were appointed fer each child, the bonds
would nave 10 be I0r one million and
SIX hundred thousand dollars each.
. Then there is tie further legal require
ment that the guardian shall account ior
! the interest Oh his ward S funds al s ger
cent. per annum, and this is compound.
ed. Thus are The difficulties evident "a
regard to the management of these an
uuallY large lesacies. The local papers
con1ein Lengthy ana minute accounts cf
! the matter. Mr.. billiard was formerly
member Of the Sps,tanhurg bar. and is
known more or less il other sections Of
South Carolina.
(Fson The Asheville Advance, september9J
In conversation with Mr.. Dillard yes
terday, he said:
''Mr. McCurry was always regarded as
4 peculiar man, but he was as sharp as 6.
uriar. Soon after ne went to California
he became aienated from the relatives
lie had left behind him and ceased al
correspondence with them. Years passed
when he was not heard from at a..
Finally his family were surprised one
day by receiving letter from Mr.. Nc
Curry. He said that he was sick and
wanted Sl00 to come home with. The
money was sent, but in q few weeks it
WAS returned, accompanied by a state
ment that it was not needed.
''Years after this circumstance wrote
to lawyer in California, asking for in
formation regarding James McCurry.
He answered that he knew him well, and
that he was one ef the millonaires OF the
Golden State.
"When my wife died il 1881, at Web
ster, \. c., sent Mr.. NcCurry an an
nouncement of her death. The answer
l received to this letter made all inquiry
IL regard to the number Of children,
lett by ny wife. We then had four
and I also wrote him. Two have since
died. Now, the Will. of which l have
copy, bears the date of 1882, and I pre-
sumo t4at Mr. McCurry made this will
with the idea that he was distributing
81, 600, 900 among four children instead
of two. You SEE, that would have left
them 800, 900 apiecs.
'sMy brother-in-law was resident OF
Placerville, California, and IL his will he
leaves $4,000 to Miss Sarah Louise
Clifford, Of that place, and $500 to the
Rev. Hall. I have no information in
regard to either Of these parties. The
will provides that after the payment CT
these special legacies the remainder Of
his property shall be divided among his
nearest relatives in Rabun county, Ga.
Ny two children are living with their
grandmother in the country in the coun-
ty OF Laurens, South Carolina, and have
not yet learned of their good fortune.
Ny daughter is eleven years old; my
son fourteen. From the fact of their
being minors guardian viii, of course,
have to be appointed; and it is expected
that considerable difficulty will be ex-
perienced in making bond Of tee large
! dimensions reUuireG. >